Bellevue Mob Scene Over Teen Heartthrob -- Five Hurt In Crush To See TV Actor

BELLEVUE - The staff at The Bon Marche figured they might draw 500 people to a three-hour promotion for a television actor whom fans compare to James Dean.

What they got was a virtual mob.

Five teenage girls were injured yesterday when a young crowd waiting to see Luke Perry, who stars in "Beverly Hills 90210" on the Fox network (Channel 13 locally), went out of control. Two suffered ankle injuries, two were treated for hyperventilation and one reported abdominal pain.

And Perry was whisked from the floor in a hamper so no one would see him, a saleswoman said.

"He obviously was a heartthrob," said Bellevue police Capt. William Baker. "It was like something out of those English soccer games."

What the girls clamored for wasn't their favorite team, but an actor they say looks as handsome as the 1950s movie idol. Perry plays the character Dylan on a weekly comedy set at Beverly Hills High School.

The Bon ran television ads inviting fans to an autograph session with Perry in the store's junior section, from 4 to 7 p.m. But instead of the 500 predicted, there were 3,000 lined up outside the store's south entrance, police said.

And within minutes after the door opened, people began pushing and shoving to move up front, Baker said.

Girls, he said, were getting trampled and crushed against the store's brick wall and each other.

"We got squished," said Danika Presley, 12, of Kirkland. "People just kept pushing and cutting in line. It really makes me mad."

She and her friends climbed over a 3-foot hedge near the doors. Others went up trees and a nearby light pole.

Four off-duty police officers had been hired and eight Bellevue Square security officers were on hand. But the crowd was simply overwhelming, said Clark Rice, chief of security.

The Bellevue Police Department knew nothing about the event until reports of crowd-control problems came over the scanner at 4:15 p.m., Baker said.

Inside the store, where Perry was signing autographs near the prom dresses, "it was just insane," said Cindy Kovalcheck, a saleswoman. "Girls were climbing on the racks (of clothes) to get a look at him."

She was running around trying to help customers who had no interest in Perry. They actually tried to shop during the commotion.

"Finally," Baker said, "we got ahold of (mall) security and told them to shut it down."

The Bon moved everyone out of the junior section and locked the door. Police waved fans away. The thick hedge looked like cattle had just grazed on it.

That was when Perry was removed in the hamper.

Things had just begun to calm down when a Bon employee ran out and threw a stack of Perry's autographed photos to the ground. Dozens of girls swarmed to them, falling over each other with screams.

Baker and other officers pulled them away. On the ground sat a young girl who was so startled she couldn't move. She was crying.

In retrospect, the near-riot drew some criticism from the fans. "The cops didn't do their jobs," said Carrie Nepanias, 15, of Redmond. "They could have stopped it."

Three of the five injured girls, ages 14-16, were taken to Overlake Hospital and Medical Center, where they were treated and released.

Other shoppers, not knowing of the injuries, were bemused. Would they have stood in line for a man who plays "Dylan" on a TV show?

"Dylan? You mean Bob Dylan?" said Carla Alley, a woman in her 40s. "Now he, I wouldn't mind seeing."

Luke Perry.

"Who's he?" asked Pat Stokes, 49, of Bellevue. "I have no idea who he is. He can't be that important."